Growing With The Times

Working out of a Dodge Swinger alongside his high-school buddy, Mike Kowalski entered the green industry in the spring of 1983.

Armed with two walk-behind lawnmowers, the ambitious pair jumped into the unknown world of lawn care – ready for the business lessons that would inevitably come their way. After 18 months of partnership, Kowalski bought out the friend and forged on as owner of Great Outdoors, Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I think I’ve proven that anyone can get into this business,” Kowalski chuckled. “We started with a two-door sedan and a couple of mowers. It’s great to look back and see how far the company has come.”

Now, with nearly 20 years of experience in the green industry, Kowalski often reflects on what he insists has sustained him and his lawn business: good employees.

Yes, the Michigan native has learned the inestimable value of recruiting and sustaining an excellent crew.

“You’re only as good as the people that are working with you,” Kowalski shared. “You have to hire people that are smarter than you because it’s the people in your organization that are going to get you to whatever point you want to reach.”

Great Outdoors is a 36-person operation during peak season, keeping 12 employees on full-time status. And you can bet those employees are hired and managed with care.

“My advice is to hire people who have a long-term focus on the industry,” he shared. “Hire people who want to stick around. Those are the people that make you look good as an owner.”

Specifically, he recommended offering internship experience to college students as a way to recruit those who are genuinely interested in embracing the industry. “We offer internships for university students who are looking for field experience,” Kowalski explained. “We let them try a number of different services to get a full taste of the entire industry. They work a full schedule, and we pay them a fair wage.”

Usually the interns are in their junior or senior year in a sports turf management program or something similar. And while the internship program is beneficial to students, it also presents benefits to the company itself.

“It’s good exposure for us,” Kowalski maintained. “We get a good working relationship with professors at the university. And sometimes we even end up hiring our interns. In fact, our first intern is still with us.”

That intern, who started seven years ago in the fertilizer program, is now a residential maintenance salesperson for Great Outdoors.

When seeking reliable employees, Kowalski also recommended tapping into the offerings of the H2B program. This year, 16 of his employees will be international workers obtained through the H2B system. “We do our best to take good care of them,” he asserted, referring to the international workers. “We pay them what we would pay any new employee. They have gotten raises over the years.”

Great Outdoors treats them so well, in fact, that the international employees do a great deal of recruiting for the company when they return to Vera Cruz, Mexico, during the winter months.

“They enjoy working with us because of the relationships they have here,” Kowalski expressed. “We have a good staff that understands how important these workers are, and we take care of them.”

GROWING UP. Although Kowalski jumped into the green industry with only two mowers and a sedan, his business has not been stagnant in terms of size and services.
He slowly added more equipment to the mix and the progressively started adding services to his high-school mowing operation.

“Now we offer pretty much a full array of services, including full landscape design and build, irrigation, full maintenance, snow removal, interior plants and holiday decorating,” he noted, explaining that his multi-service company has even been awarded a recognition by the Michigan Green Industry Association for its work. “We just gradually added those services through the years by looking at what customers were looking for and adding what they needed.”

And as Kowalski looks to the coming season, he sees even more growth in the cards.

“The one thing we’re going to focus on this year is actually trying to grow,” he explained. “I’ve always felt that in a down economy, there’s a possibility of gaining market share. We’re kind of at an in-between size – too small for the big guys and too small to compete with little guys. That gives us some opportunity”

To grow Great Outdoors’ market share, Kowalski is looking to change its marketing philosophy. Kowalski would like to see the company put more emphasis on its higher-end customers, through new brochures and some telemarketing.

The company will also increase its involvement in the local home and garden shows. For the past seven years, Great Outdoor has set up booths at shows in and near Ann Arbor.
“It’s been one of the best things for us,” Kowalski said. “We get a lot of leads because people can see our work right away. They can see how professional we are and how we work.”

To further grow its sales, Great Outdoors is also looking to expand its service area. “We are basically just in Ann Arbor, but we’d like to expand to Livingston County and Western Wayne counties,” Kowalski described. “Most of our business is within a 10- or 12-mile radius right now; it is fairly isolated. We may start sneaking into those other areas.”

REACHING OUT. Through the years, Kowalski has enjoyed his associations with other industry professionals. He and his employees attend trade shows and conferences regularly. Kowalski also is an involved member of the Associated Landscape Contractors of America.

He is mentoring a new contractor in Royal Oak, Mich., as well. The young contractor has been in contact with Kowalski for more than 18 months, grilling him with industry-related queries and seeking sound advice from a voice of experience.

“He calls me up with questions sometimes,” Kowalski shared. “I learn from him too. He has a lot of ideas.”

Through his associations with this young contractor and others in the industry, Kowalski has recognized the need for greater respect among contractors.

“One concern I have lies in growing the image of the green industry,” Kowalski expressed. “I’d certainly like to see landscapers held in the same regard as any professional. The only way to do that is to focus on professionalism and learn more about this industry we work in.”

Kowalski insisted that people will respect contractors who respect themselves and their important work as well.

“In general, the most important thing when dealing with customers is being professional – portraying your best image and being honest on a day-to-day basis,” Kowalski recommended. “That’s what you’ll be judged on by your customers. Those things are vital to any business.”

The author is Assistant Editor – Internet for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.